cringe

intr.v., cringed, cring·ing, cring·es.

1. To shrink back, as in fear; cower.
2. To behave in a servile way; fawn.

n.
An act or instance of cringing.

[Middle English crengen, to bend haughtily, probably ultimately from Old English cringan, to give way.]

verb

1. To draw away involuntarily, usually out of fear or disgust: blench, flinch, quail, recoil, shrink, shy, start, wince. See approach/retreat, seek/avoid.
2. To support slavishly every opinion or suggestion of a superior: bootlick, fawn, grovel, kowtow, slaver, toady, truckle. Informal apple-polish, brownnose, cotton. Slang suck up. Idioms: curry favor, dance attendance, kiss someone's feet, lick someone's boots. See over/under.

noun

An act of drawing back in an involuntary or instinctive fashion: flinch, recoil, shrink, wince. See approach/retreat, seek/avoid.

v

Definition: flinch, recoil from danger
Antonyms: come forward

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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The verb has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: draw back, as with fear or pain
  Synonyms: flinch, squinch, funk, shrink, wince, recoil, quail

Meaning #2: show submission or fear
  Synonyms: fawn, crawl, creep, cower, grovel

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Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - krybe sammen, vige tilbage, sleske, ligge på maven for, krumme tæer
n. - kryben, servilitet

Nederlands (Dutch)
ineenkrimpen, de kriebels krijgen, walgen, slijmen, kruiperige daad

Français (French)
v. intr. - se faire tout petit, se blottir (de peur), se dérober (par crainte d'un coup), s'humilier, ramper, s'aplatir, avoir envie de rentrer sous terre
n. - mouvement de recul

Deutsch (German)
v. - zusammenzucken, sich ducken
n. - kriecherische Höflichkeit

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - μαζεύομαι, ζαρώνω, έρπω, στέκω σούζα

Italiano (Italian)
rannicchiarsi

Português (Portuguese)
v. - bajular

Русский (Russian)
съеживаться

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - agacharse, encogerse
n. - obsequiosidad servil, adulación

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - krypa ihop, huka sig, fjäska, buga sig servilt

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
畏缩, 奉承, 阿谀

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 畏縮, 奉承, 阿諛
n. - 畏縮, 奉承

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 움추리다, 굽신거리다
n. - 비굴한 태도

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - すくむ, いやになる, ぺこぺこする
n. - 卑屈な態度

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) انكمش خائفا, تخضع, تذلل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮נרתע, התרפס, התכווץ, נתקף גועל‬
n. - ‮גועל, התכווצות, התרפסות, רתיעה‬

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